S. Leone court suspects former minister of plotting unrest
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FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (Reuters) -- A U.N.-backed special court for war crimes in Sierra Leone said on Wednesday it had restricted telephone calls and visits to an indicted former minister on suspicion he was fomenting civil unrest from jail.
Sam Hinga Norman, a former interior minister, was arrested in March last year and indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity -- such as hacking and burning people to death -- during the country's savage, decade-long civil war.
Norman, who led the feared pro-government Kamajor militia of hunters during the war, has since been in detention awaiting trial along with eight other indictees.
Sierra Leone's war was declared over in January 2002, and there are thousands of U.N. peacekeepers in the country.
However, fears of a return to violence linger, especially given instability in neighboring Liberia where peace is taking a fragile foothold in a land awash with weapons.
The court said it had decided to restrict all communications involving Norman -- except for those with his lawyers -- for 14 days after intercepting a telephone conversation late on Monday.
"The content of the intercepted conversation indicated his involvement in coordinating activities calculated to cause civil unrest in Sierra Leone," the court said in a statement.
"Effective immediately, Norman will no longer be able to make or receive telephone calls, except to his legal representatives. Visits, except from his lawyers, are also
prohibited," it said.
It gave no more details on the intercepted conversation.
A local newspaper said on Tuesday a group of Kamajors in the south of the country had threatened to storm the court's prison in the capital Freetown if Norman was not set free.
The former British colony's war, one of Africa's most brutal conflicts, became notorious for crimes like the random amputation of civilians' limbs.
The text of the court's indictment against Norman says the Kamajor militias killed scores of civilians suspected of sympathizing with the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF).
It said the militias also practiced human sacrifices and cannibalism and accused Norman of approving the recruitment of child soldiers below the age of 15. He has pleaded not guilty.
No date has yet been set for a trial.
Of the 13 people originally indicted by the court, RUF rebel leader Foday Sankoh died in hospital and two others are thought to have been killed while still at large.
Liberian former President Charles Taylor, whose downfall was accelerated by his indictment by the court on charges of supporting the RUF, has lived in Nigeria since August.
Copyright 2004
Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
